POLITICS
Authoritarians Usually Are Weirdos
“Trump is weird” is a good line—it has worked for most dictators
After almost a decade of trying to figure out a way to defeat the Trumpist movement, Democrats seem to have stumbled on a winning message: Trump and his acolytes are weirdos.
The new line of attack seems to have begun with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has been a constant presence on cable news while campaigning to become Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential nominee. A jocular former schoolteacher, Walz gives off strong folksy-neighbor vibes. He seems like the type of guy you’d see in your neighborhood doing yard work or preparing for a backyard barbecue. In other words, he’s aggressively normal.
The central theme of Walz’ TV blitz has been that Republicans are weird and creepy. As Walz puts it, “These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away; they want to be in your exam room.” Harris has picked up on the theme, saying, “You may have noticed that Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record. And some of what he and his running mate have been saying — well it’s just plain weird.”
Trump’s selection of JD Vance (who prefers no periods after his initials, for some reason) as his running mate has, frankly, invited these…
